Prison, by Toni V Lee

I really wanted to like this book.  The plot sounded so interesting:  Sonja Grey and Max Trent are narcotics detectives who are chosen to go undercover to capture a "thug" who is dealing drugs at Sonja's church.  Promising mystery, suspense, and romance, it was indeed the makings of a good book.

Unfortunately, this kernel of a good story was completely lost in a bunch of cliches, overly stereotypical characters, and unbelievable dialogue.  Sonja and Max go from acting like immature grade schoolers - dealing with their attraction for each other by picking fights - to becoming the stuff of a Christian version of a Harlequin romance.  I lost track of how many times Sonja admired Max's "bulging, rippling muscles," and at one pointed she deemed him "looking good enough to eat."  For his part, Max struggled with controlling his fleshly desires, allowing himself only to "kiss her senseless"  (more than once), and delivered lines like, "Don't you know my heart beats in time with yours?"

The secondary characters, including the young man they were trying to capture, were basically caricatures, rather than believable, three dimensional characters.   We're also led to believe that the bad guys are going to be covered in tattoos and wear dreadlocks, because obviously, tattoos and dreadlocks equal a thug.

Ultimately, I was disappointed and frustrated while trying to read this all the way through.  I did finish the book, but found myself skimming at times, because it was just too difficult to take seriously.



I received this book for free from the BookLook Bloggers program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.